Fate and a lot of flights brought David Fisher to Kent State

By Stephanie Storm, Akron Beacon Journal

A little over halfway through Fisher’s sophomore season last fall at Palomar Community College, he received a message from C.J. Malauulu, a friend he grew up with in Oceanside, Calif., whom he’d played with the previous year at Palomar.

The message implored Fisher, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound quarterback, to send his midseason football highlight tape to Kent State. It was an odd request considering when Malauulu left Palomar to play at Kent State, it was the first Fisher had ever heard about the school he only knew then as “somewhere far away in the Midwest.”

“I pictured lots of open space,” Fisher said. “You know, nothing but farmland. With lots and lots of cows.”

Still, Fisher sent the tape. Then he searched for Kent State on Google to see what he could learn about the school and its football program.

“I saw [KSU] had like six or seven quarterbacks and I thought, ‘Why is C.J. even asking me?’ I figured, ‘That’s not happening’ and just went back to doing my thing,” he said.

A couple of weeks later, Malauulu called Fisher and told him the staff had shown considerable interest in his tape. A couple of days later, Fisher’s cell phone rang. On the other end was KSU’s offensive coordinator, Brian Rock. Rock introduced himself and told Fisher he planned to come and watch his next game. When Rock arrived, he and Fisher hit it off right away.

“He was so cool, this vibrant, loud, energetic guy who makes you feel like he’s known you his whole life,” Fisher said. “I’ve talked to scouts before and usually they’re really blunt. But coach Rock was so different. I just fed off him as we talked for like, two hours.”

A week later, Rock boarded a plane again to visit Fisher. Rock made the trip four times in all, keeping Fisher in the loop with what was going on at KSU while keeping tabs on how Fisher’s season was wrapping up.

Fisher’s parents, Mario and Phenella Adame, began getting excited about what appeared to be their son’s big break. After years of trying to land a football scholarship — first at the University of Nevada as a preferred walk on and then spending two years at Palomar — a Division I school was interested in their son.

Fisher said his coaches at Palomar warned him not to commit too soon, to keep his options open. Fisher couldn’t help but think about what happened the last time he got stuck on a Division I school [Nevada] too soon. So he kept KSU in the back of his mind, trying not to get too excited by the prospect of a scholarship while focusing on the task at hand.

A dual-threat quarterback, Fisher went on to throw for 2,539 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions and added 403 yards on the ground with seven rushing touchdowns.

He led Palomar to a 7-4 record and into the Southern California Community College semifinals. Fisher was named the National Southern Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Rock had set the foundation with Fisher, but it was KSU coach Darrell Hazell who put the finishing touches on the deal with a visit of his own.

Hazell’s No. 1 priority coming off the Flashes’ 5-7 season in his first year as a coach was to create a greater competition at the most important position on the field. Even before the end of the season, Hazell had written a list of three names in the upper left-hand corner of a large white dry-erase board in his office.

It was his personal wish list of quarterbacks whittled down after he and his staff had combed through hours of film on hundreds of players across the country. The first name on the list was David Fisher.

Despite all the attention they’d given Fisher, including bringing him in for an official visit in early December, the polite kid who is half Native American was still reluctant to commit to Kent State.

“The No. 1 priority coming off the season was to sign a JC quarterback,” Hazell said. “David was tops on the list because he gives you a lot of different dimensions; the ability to run with [the football] and the ability to throw it.

“In addition, he keeps his eyes down the field when things break down and creates big plays by finding open guys. He’s also got a very good arm. Probably not an A arm, but I’d rate him a B-plus arm with good accuracy.”

So a few days after the Flashes wrapped up their 7-5 season with four wins in the last five games, Hazell set out to meet Fisher’s family.

In mid-December, Hazell headed across the country in a plane (he prefers driving) to a state that makes him a bit nervous (something about earthquakes).

Hazell and Fisher first met at Palomar, then went their separate ways for a couple of hours before meeting up for dinner at Fisher’s home. There, Hazell, Fisher and Fisher’s parents, sister, bother-in-law and baby nephew enjoyed a dinner of steak, baked potato, corn on the cob and banana crème pie.

Afterward, the group was gathered in the family room as Hazell made his last pitch.

“Things were going so well, deep down inside I had a gut feeling he was going to commit,” Hazell said. “But I wasn’t sure why he was still holding back. I didn’t want to push it, so I backed off and we all just kept talking some more.”

Eventually, Fisher’s father had had enough of the suspense and put his stepson on the spot.

“My dad turns to me and says, ‘Well, son, what are you going to do?’ ” Fisher said. “Then coach Hazell goes, ‘David hasn’t told me yet, I’m still trying to get it out of him.’ ”

Embarrassed, Fisher said: “I really don’t know how to do this. Mom, you might want to get out the camera.”

When Phenella Adame returned with the camera ready, Fisher stood up, shook Hazell’s hand and said, “I’m not sure if this is how you do it Coach, but I’m committing to Kent State.”

“Coach Hazell got a big smile on his face and gave me a big hug. Out of the corner of my eye I could see tears in my mom’s eyes. I was so glad my whole family got to see the moment.”

As high as expectations already seem to be for Fisher, there are no guarantees. On Feb. 1, the Flashes will unveil a 25-player 2012 recruiting class that could include a freshman quarterback.

Such a scenario would set up at least a three-way battle at the position heading into preseason camp, with a starter to be determined in the fall.

“From where I went, from there to there to there to get here,” Fisher said Friday, sitting in Hazell’s office, “we believe it was a plan. It was all God’s plan for me to come here all along.”